Refrigerating apparatus



Jan. 4, 1938. P. M. BRATTEN REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 17, 1936 28 INVFNTOR.

Pl /LIP. MBmn-rew.

, HIS ATTORNEYS.

2,104,711 aararoeaarrno arranarns Philip M. Bratten, Fort Worth, Tex, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application March 17, 1936, Serial No. 69,352

2 @laims.

The present invention relates to refrigerator cabinets and particularly to an arrangement of means for indicating temperatures existing within such cabinets.

I am aware of the fact that refrigerator cabinets have, in the past, been equipped with means to indicate the temperature of a compartment within the cabinet but such means has heretofore either been constructed in an insulated wall of the cabinet, with provisions for viewing the means from the exterior thereof, or positioned within the food storage compartment of the cabinet in such a position that it occupies a portion thereof adapted to receive articles to be stored therein, or the indicating means has been mounted on a cooling element or evaporator of a refrigerating system positioned in the compartment. It is very difficult to seal or insulate the means which permits a thermometer, constructed in an insulating wall of a cabinet, to be viewed from the exterior of the cabinet and the cost of such a structure is prohibitive. When a thermometer is placed in a food compartment of a refrigerator cabinet in a position adapted to be occupied by articles to be stored in the compartment it is likely to be broken during transference of food to and from the compartment. A thermometer mounted on a cooling element positioned in a food-storage compartment of a refrigerator cabinet will not indicate the true temperature of air circulating within the compartment due to its being afie'cted by the low temperature of the cooling element. Thus it is apparent that these former provisions of a temperature indicating means for food compartments of refrigerator cabinets have either been too expensive to produce or have not been entirely satisfactory. My invention is directed to overcoming difiiculties encountered in the production and use of these prior temperature indicating means.

.An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator cabinet with a thermometer for indicating the temperature therein and to mount the thermometer in the food storage compartment thereof in a conspicuous but out of the way position so that the same will not interfere with the a means for supporting a thermometer within the food storage compartment of a refrigerator cabinet which means forms a protecting shield for the thermometer and serves another purpose as well. 5

In carrying out the foregoing objects it is a still further and more specific object of the present invention to provide a depression or wellin a shelf, adapted to be positioned in a food storage compartment of a refrigerator cabinet, for the recep- 10 tion and support of a thermometer below the food supporting surface of the shelf.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accom- 15 panying drawing, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing: e

Fig. 1 is a front perspective View of a refrigerator cabinet having a food supporting shelf 20 therein constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of a shelf shown'in Fig. 1 and having the invention embodied therein; I 25 Fig. 3 is a front view of the shelf shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the shelf taken on the line d@ of Fig. 2; and I Fig. 5 is a perspective fragmentary view look- 30 ing down on the upper surface of the shelf.

Referring to the drawing, for the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in Fig. 1 thereof a refrigerator cabinet of the household type generally represented by the reference character l0. Cabinet l0 includes a plurality of insulating walls ll preferably covered by a metal shell or a plurality of metallic panels. The walls It surround or enclose a metallic liner member it which forms walls of a food storage chamber it within cabinet it. Any desirable or conventional cooling element or evaporator of a mechanical refrigerating system is preferably mounted within the food storage chamber I'4.by being suspendingly supported from the top wall thereof. The refrigerating effect produced by evaporator l5 cools and causes circulation of air shelves l8 within chamber id. The shelves may 55 be supported'in any suitable or desirable manner within chamber l4 such, for example, as by the shelf supports I9 secured to the vertical side wall portions of the metallic chamber liner I2.

The shelves shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing are all similarly constructed but it will be noted by referring to Fig. 2 of the drawing that one of the,

shelves I8 comprises a relatively heavy round wire rim member 2| which forms the peripheral edges of the shelf and is adapted to have portions thereof engaged by the supports l9. A plurality of small round wires 22 are spaced apart a predetermined distance and extend parallel to one another from the front to the rear of the rim member 2!. It will be noted, by reference to Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing, that the Wires 22 are all disposed on the same horizontal plane and provide the shelf l8 with a flat food supporting surface. The ends of wires 22 are preferably welded or otherwise secured within suitable slots 23 cut in or provided along the inner top surface of rim member 2|. The reticulated shelf H! has a portion thereof adjacent its front edge and inwardly of the rim member 2| indented to provide an elongated pocket or well of predetermined length for the reception of an article such as a means for indicating the temperature existing within the food storage chamber M. This pocket or well in the present disclosure is formed by a substantially semi-cylindrical and vertically disposed bent down portion 24 provided on each of certain adjacent parallel wires 22. It will be noted that the elongated pocket or well is disposed along or adjacent to oiie edge of shelf 18 and that this edge preferably forms the front of shelf l8 when same is placed in the chamber I l. The pocket or well, formed by the indented or bent down portions 24 of certain adjacent wires 22, is preferably of such depth as to permit an article such as a thermometer to be supported therein below the plane of the flat food supporting surface of the shelf provided by the plurality of cross wires 22. in the present disclosure a thermometer, generally represented by the reference character 26, is shown as being supported Within the well or pocket. The thermometer 26 may be of any suitable or conventional construction and it will be noted by referring-again to Fig. 1 of the drawing that the thermometer .26 is adjacent the access opening, adapted to be closed by door l6, so as to be in a readily accessible or visible position for reading the temperature indicated thereby. The thermometer 26 may be positioned so as to be visible and readable on a horizontal plane with shelf 18 but itis preferably positioned within the well or pocket so as to be visible or readable by viewing same from a point above the shelf l8 as shown in the draw- The construction of the thermometer, generally indicated by the numeral 26, in the present disclosure includes a glass tube 21 having metal cap members 28 secured to the ends of tube 21 and sealed to these ends. The tube 21 and closure caps 28 form a chamber or housing having a flat plate 29 positioned therein which plate is graduated in any suitable manner. A small glass tube 3i having mercury or other suitable fluid sealed therein is attached in any desirable manner to the plate 29. The mercury within the tube 3| is adapted to cooperate with and move relative to the graduations on plate 29 in response to temperature changes for indicating the temperature existing within the food storage chamber M. The housing or chamber, formed by the glass tube 21 and cap members 28, prevents the thermometer element disposed therein from being directly exposed to air within the room in which the refrigerator cabinet is located when the door l6 of cabinet II] is opened. Thus the thermometer 26 will indicate the true temperature within chamber M for a considerable length of time after the door l6 has been opened.

From theforegoing it is apparent that I have provided an improved mounting of a temperature indicating means within a refrigerator cabinet. By providing for the support of a thermometer by and below the food supporting surface of a shelf disposed within a food storage chamber of a refrigerator cabinet the thermometer does not interfere with the storage of articles adapted to be placed on and supported by the food supporting surface of the shelf. The improved shelf having the well or pocket indented or formed therein locates the thermometer in the present disclosure immediately adjacent the bottom thereof out of the'way of articles or food products adapted to be placed on a lower shelf. The deformation of certain parts of the shelf to form the thermometer Well or pocket provides a protecting shield for a thermometer adapted to be disposed in the well or pocket to thus prevent breakage of the thermometer.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A shelf adapted to be supported in a food storage compartment of a refrigerator cabinet comprising, a rim member, a plurality of spaced apart members disposed in the same plane and extending from one side to the opposite side of said rim member to form a substantially fiat food supporting surface for said shelf, certain of said spaced apart members being bent downwardly of certain other of said members adjacent said rim member and forming a pocket for the reception of a temperature indicating means below said food supporting surface, and the certain other of said members adjacent said pocket forming stop means for preventing movement of the temperature indicating means adapted to be positioned in said pocket. I

2. A shelf adapted to be supported in a food storage compartment of a refrigerator cabinet comprising, a rim member, a plurality of spaced apart members disposed in the same plane and extending from one side to the opposite side of said rim memberto form a substantially flat food supporting surface for said shelf, certain of said spaced apart members being bent downwardly of certain other of said members adjacent said rim member and forming an elongated pocket extending parallel to said rim member for the reception of a temperature indicating means below said food supporting surface, and the certain other of said members adjacent said elongated pocket forming stop means for preventing longitudinal movement of the temperature indicating means adapted to be positioned in said elongated'pocket relative thereto.

PHILIP M. BRATT EN, 

